Multiple Best in All Breed Show, Multiple Reserve Best in All Breed Show, Multiple Best Puppy In All Breed Show

Best Opposite Sex Puppy in Specialty Show at the 2008 Silken Windhound Nationals

Multiple Best of Breed, Multilple Specialty Award of Merit Winner

ISWS Ch, NAKC Master Supreme Grand Ch, IABCA UCICB Int Ch

Talisman of Art Nouveau

# 1 ranked singles lure courser of 2009

Ilsa, our statuesque golden sofa princess, is a self-assured, happy, affectionate, very opinionated, and fun-loving hound. Her favorite in-house hobbies are affectionate tackling of her favorite humans , ridiculously long petting sessions, running pell mell with the pack, and chewing on her very tolerent and long suffering brother Dresden . She is the single girl born into a litter with four brothers, and from an early age keeping up with and bossing around all her litter brothers, has been very much a ruling-class tomboy.

Ilsa posing by the fountain at home

In addition to being the only female in her litter, she was also the only puppy who was blond and not chinchilla blue. Because she was twice the size of her brothers when she was born, and the bossiest in the litter , Ilsa was named after the star character in a series of legendarily ludicrous 1970's B movies , Ilsa, played by actress Dyanne Thorne.

Loud and Proud, Ilsa hanging out at home

Ilsa made a very big entrance into the world, being both upside down, slightly askew, and backwards! She continues to make striking first impressions wherever she goes.

Following in the pawsteps of her very well-traveled parents, in her time so far on the planet, Ilsa has been up and down California, to Colorado and back, to beaches, mountains, woods and deserts,houses and hotel rooms, coursing, showing, oval track, and racing fields, and just plain old walks through town. She's a big fan of the beach, and we're getting her out to it as much as we can .

Ilsa and her brother Dresden are a study in contrasts. She's demanding where he is polite, overthinks things in situations where he's laid back. They still manage to be the best of friends and spend most of their time together, and have some hobbies in common, in addition to agreeing what furniture is best to chew on, they both give a big paws up to offleash hikes!

Ilsa's first show weekend was at a NAKC show . She managed to garner not one but three Best Puppy in All Breed Show awards in her show debute! One of them was under Patricia Gail Burnham who had given herMom Cinder a NAKC Best in Show ribbon two years prior .

Her other BPIS awards were under judge Terry Campbell and Judge Sherry Swanson. Not bad for an April show for a pup who was just born in December!

Ilsa at the Silken Windhound Nationals in 08 by Don Kemp

In June of 08, Ilsa, under FCI judge Roberto Elinan at the Silken Windhound Nationals in Colorado, took home the Best Opposite Sex Puppy in Show award!

At her second NAKC show outing in September of 08, in 100+ degree weather in the LA area Ilsa finally was of age to compete for points !

Ilsa did very well despite the heat! And , at the young age of just barely 9 months, Ilsa , showing out of the puppy 9 to 12 month class, started and completed her Rarities/NAKC championship by going multiple Winners Bitch , Best of Winners , and Best of Breed Opp Sex, and getting a Best Jr Puppy in Show award!

At her third NAKC outing , in July of 09, in 107 degree heat at Livermore California, not only did Ilsa garner four out of the five Best of Breed ribbons, she finished her ISWS Ch at the Specialty hosted by NAKC!

In September of 09, Ilsa also earned her IABCA UCICB Int Ch!

In October of 2009, Ilsa was awarded two Award of Merit Ribbons showing out of the Best of Breed class to Ms. Diane McCormack and Ms. Betty Stites! Ilsa, with Oz, also showed in Brace class under both judges, and Ilsa also showed with her Mother Cinder, and some of her sibs and half sibs, winning Brood Bitch twice!

Ilsa with judge Betty Stites with one of her two AOM

In January 2010, Ilsa garnered more Best of Opp Sex awards showing from Ch class, and also was awarded Reserve Best in All Breed Show. In August of 2010, Ilsa was awarded two NAKC Best in Show awards, beating 15 Ch's to get her Grand Championship and 15 Grand Champions to get her Supreme Grand Championship! She's also now become a Master Supreme Grand Champion!

Ilsa and Oz winning Brace Class under Ms Diane McCormack

Ilsa at the Jan 2010 NAKC show cluster being goofy while waiting her turn at exam, then a trot to her free stack

Ilsa and Oz again showed to a win as a Brace under judge Paulette DeLong

at our Western Regional Specialty in 2011, pics by Steve Tradewell

At the Western Regional Specialty 2011, Ilsa took home an Award of Merit, and a Best Brace award along with her lookalike non sibling Oz. She also helped her Mother Cinder win yet another Specialty Brood Bitch award!

Ilsa at the Jan 2010 NAKC, Reserve Best in Show!

Because my goal for Ilsa has been to put a Best in Specialty Show on her, just so she would match both her parents Specialty wins, and because for whatever reason, she seems to only win breed if it's not a Specialty show, she's showed and won enough in NAKC that she has inadvertantly become the breeds first and only Master Supreme Champion at NAKC. She's also been one of the top Silkens showing in that venue every year she's shown.

Ilsa's still not gotten that elusive BISS, so I we'll see what the future holds!

Ilsa running with her best pal and brother Dresden on the cliffs at Ft Funston

While her brother Dresden is usually tagged by the pack to be the rabbit in the running games, she'll let him chase her once in a while just to keep him guessing. We've been taking her on off leash hikes since she was just a wee pup, so she has very reliable recall, and she demands to enjoy the great outdoors unfettered as much as we can chauffer her out there!

Ilsa and her brother on the windswept bluffs above the beach at Fort Funston in San Francisco

Running the dogs, in addition to keeping them socialized, really keeps them in great shape for both shows and performance events!

Ilsa running in her first competitive performance event, lure coursing!

In January of 09, at the very first lure coursing event for Silken Windhounds in California, Ilsa got Coursing Qualified (CQ) , and at her very first weekend of lure coursing, Feb 14th and 15th 2009, Ilsa came in #2 on Sat and #1 on Sun, and has gotten almost halfway to her lure coursing Championship! She has gone through a phase of not wanting to share the lure, so we started coursing her in singles stakes at ASFA.

She's a reflection of both her parents,Tyler and Cinder ,with more topline than her Mom Cinder, and a very pretty refined head. She has dark haws, dark , dark eyes, and a very endearing expression. She also has her Mom's goofy, crooked , happy grin and her neverending appetite for tummy rubs . We're looking forward to great times ahead with Ms. Ilsa !